Unscientific Pursuits
by Tattooedpies
Summary: Privates Baird and Cole have been sent on a 'field trip' to assess the defenses of and help guard an independent research facility. The sleepy little island doesn't need protecting, so Cole's determined to use the time to set Baird up with a scientist.
1. Little Puppy

_**Author's Note:**__ This fic is dedicated to xSCx GHOST, who wrote the part of Baird (this is adapted from a MSN RP), and without whom I wouldn't even be into Gears in the first place!_

_We actually started off RPing normal-age Jenny and Baird (early 30's) at first, but one day after many, many plots we went... what if they met when they were younger? Say, he was 16 and she 18? I liked the resulting plot so much I decided to sit down and add, prune and adapt it into a proper story—the one that follows._

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><p>The young woman sighed, shuffling papers as she waited at the front desk. This was not how she'd planned on spending her day off—waiting for some 'genius' brat and his ex-thrashball player escort to show up to give them the tour of the facility—but Abel (the director of the research facility, and an <em>actual <em>genius) had suddenly and violently become ill that morning, and was still worshipping the porcelain goddess at that very moment. Poor thing. So she'd have to do the government butt-kissing for him. She was anxious to just get this over with. She heard the security-buzzer, and held down the button to speak. "Yes?"

The voice that responded was impatient, snotty, and unexpectedly high-pitched. "Uh, we're here for the frigging _tour_."

On the other side of the door, Cole shook his head and picked Baird up by the scruff of his neck, something he was easily able to do given their size difference. He was six years older than his young friend, and built like a train—hence his namesake—from years on the thrashball field. He looked his friend dead in the eyes. "Be polite to the lady now, you hear?"

"Why should I be nice to some bitch like her?" Baird frowned, cringing as he dangled in the air. "Oww... stop it."

"And you wonder why you can't get laid." Cole sighed. "Man, just don't embarrass me in front of her, even if you don't care."

"Shut up, Cole." Baird raised his hands in the air. "_You_ don't embarrass me, then."

"Heh, you do a fine enough job of that on your own." Cole let his friend sway for another half-minute, amused, and then set him back down on the ground again.

The young woman pressed a button, and the doors slid open. She quirked an eyebrow up, Islander accent punctuating emphatically-"I could hear you, you know." Her cropped-short hair and high cheekbones as well as her sharp features made her seem imposing, even if she was wearing soda-bottle-thick glasses.

Baird had been about to protest what Cole said when the door slid open. He walked in, all cocky, glaring at her and trying to draw himself up and look impressive when he stopped in front of the desk. "Yeah, so?"

The young woman stood up, adjusting her skirt and dress shirt with a crisp snap. "You are Augustus Cole and Damon Baird, yes? Jennifer Valtair, pleased to make your acquaintances. Abel is very sick and cannot be with you today." She brushed off Baird's brusqueness immediately, and smiled down at him in amusement. Next, she flicked her eyes over to Cole. "Your friend is like a Pesang sleeve dog. Fiercer than his size."

"He'd probably bite your ankles, too." Cole guffawed.

Baird frowned some, but didn't respond to that jibe. "Hey, girl... the sooner you give us this damn tour, the sooner we'll be on our way doing more important things. You know, like saving your worthless asses."

"The things we make here make sure you can continue to fight, little boy." She got up from her seat, and began to walk down the hallway. Baird frowned some more, silently mocking her when she turned her back. He followed her, glancing at Cole. Noticing the look on his face, Baird just sighed. He would shut up... for now.

"To the left is my lab, I am currently working on improving the protein gain of myco." There were stacks and stacks of petri dishes, along with high-powered microscopes and other lab equipment. Some of the dishes were glowing. "You probably don't find that terribly interesting, but it is useful. Should the war go on for years to come, lab-grown protein will prove a vital supplement to stretch out meat supplies. To the right is ammo manufacturing, can always use more of that these days…"

They go through several other rooms with various research, some medical, some technological. Improvements to the Jack-of-All-Trades line of robots, more commonly called JACKs, fake muscles, bionic brains, improved computers, a Hammer targeting core, as well as the original model. "This was the very first prototype Abel, Dr. Mauris Ivo, and the late UIR Minister of Science made. As you can see, it was much bulkier, harder to aim. We have since streamlined it for field use and tightened the targeting algorithms."

Baird stared at it intently, making that certain 'I love you machine' expression. "Oooo..." He tilts his head a little. "Hmmm."

"Want to touch it?"

Baird breathed inwardly, smiling. "Yeah..."

Cole chuckled. "Don't tell him that… we gonna be here all day while he picks it apart."

"Too bad. The glass is there for a reason." She smirked and kept moving to the next room.

Baird pressed his hands and face against the glass, and stared at it with longing. "Awww."

"Come, little puppy. We have much to see."

Baird slowly walked away to follow them, muttering, "Don't call me that..."

"You are small, cute, and you yap a lot. It is appropriate, no?"

Cole tried hard to stifle his chuckles, but to no avail.

Baird growled, looking away with an angry frown.

Jenny lead them on to the next room. "Abel's working on hard-light holograms—holograms that can touch and be touched. There are a variety of uses for them, such as basic nurse duties, moving supplies, etc." She presses a button and a hologram dressed in cleanly pressed scrubs appeared from a pedestal in the center of the room.

Cole gave the hologram a once-over as he walked around it, the nurse raising an eyebrow quizzically as she kept silent watch. "Whoa..."

Baird, however, was seemingly unimpressed. "Yeah... that's great."

Jenny nodded. "Very." She put her fingers to her lips, making a loud whistle as she walked onto the factory floor. She then pointed out the various machines that were being put together as they whizzed by. The technicians welding things together stared as they walked by. "As you recall, we did research into synthetic muscles, positronic brains, bio-integration with computers… and this is the end result." She was tackled by a giant, fluffy black dog, circuits under a thin, clear skin showing in his neck. "We have not completed his fur coat, but he is almost—" She interrupted herself to laugh, being licked. "Midnight, you silly pup."

Baird stared back at the scientists, suddenly feeling wary of them as he moved on. "Cole?" He whispered to his friend. "Uhh... N-nevermind." He blinked and looked down at the robot dog. "Holy shit."

Apparently Baird had forgotten that many of these technicians used to be Indies until recently, of _course_ they'd stare. Well, that and the two of them had to look an odd pair. Cole chuckled as his friend stared at Midnight. "Maybe if you ask real nice, she'll let you play with her dog, Damon."

Jenny took her glasses off and put them in her pocket, hair skewed to one side from rolling around with the dog. She gave him a pet and stood up, him giving a tinny woof at Baird.

Baird stared back down at Midnight. "Uhh..." Midnight shoved his head in Baird's crotch, sniffing it, lifting him up a little as he did so because he was such a huge dog. Now that he understood the human, he sidled up for pettings with a low, metallic woof.

Jenny chuckled. "It's the dog brain."

Baird backed away. "Hey! Keep that thing away from me before I use it for parts."

"He don't get touched down there often." Cole smirked, but he still planted himself between Baird and the dog to prevent any further incident.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Or deal with pets that often, apparently."

Cole got awkwardly nosed as well, but he shook it off and petted the dog. "Unless you'd told me, I wouldn't have ever guessed he was an android dog."

"That's fucked up!" Baird interjected. "What else are you people doing here? Some fucked up science experiment you really shouldn't be doing?"

"Nope, that's about it." Jenny reached over to pet the dog as well. His tail thumped between her leg and Cole's as he wagged it. "It's not like we killed a healthy dog, he had terminal cancer, and this... it saved his life."

"You're turnin' red, man," Cole chuckled under his breath to his friend.

"No, I'm not." Baird frowned... and then slowly felt his cheeks. "Fff. Shut up."

Jenny seemed oblivious to this, and took a squishy red ball from her pocket, throwing it for the dog. She ran after him, playing a little ways away with a soft smile on her face. "Good boy!" She called, rubbing his belly when he returned to her with the ball.

"You got the hots for the lady scientist, don'tcha."

Baird shot his friend a glare for that comment. "No! Hell no! Her? Ffffffff!" He laughed.

"I seen the way you stare at her ass as she walks, man." He guffawed. "You're protestin' too much."

"Noooo..."

"Then why do you look like a tomato?" He laughed harder. "Man, even your ears are red."

"Shut up!"

"Uh-uh, this is too good to miss." Cole pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "My little buddy's growing up."

Baird sighed. "I swear, man..."

"You swear what?"

"I'll... uh..." Baird's frown deepened. "Fuck off, man. God _dammit_."

Cole grinned. "Aw, c'mon man, I think it's cute."

"Stupid."

"Admittedly." Cole raised an eyebrow. "Ain't no way she'd go for a lil' shrimp like you." It sounded like a dare.

"What?"

"You heard me. She can't be more than two years older than you, but she is significantly more grown up."

Baird sighed again. "I don't give a shit."

"Heh, you _always_ say that, even when it's something you really do care about."

"No I don't..." Baird's eyebrows and lips were bent down into as much of a frown as they could go.

"Do too." Cole smirked. "Puffed out your chest and everything when you walked up to her, like—" He walked around for a bit, crossing his arms and jutting his chest forward and head to one side in a parody of Baird's cocky strut.

"I do that all the time."

"Not quite like that." Cole chuckled. He started smirking but didn't warn his friend, as he noticed Jenny sidling right up behind him, head next to his.

"You called?" She said in his ear.

Baird narrowed his eyebrows for a moment at Cole, giving him a questioning look. "Ahh! Motherfucker!" He quickly jumped back, arms flailing for purchase. "Fucking assholes."

Cole laughed, bending over and slapping his thigh. "Whoo, you got him good."

Jenny laughed. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."

Baird muttered to himself and shook his head. "I hate you..."

"Why ever would you say that?" She tilted her head and adjusted her glasses, looking amused. "Now, would you like to go back and take apart the Hammer? I have to supervise you, of course."

Baird shifted around on his feet impatiently. "Are you done, then?"

"Yes." Jenny rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. It felt odd for her to be around people her age, to say the least.

Baird gazed at her carefully, frowning somewhat. "Okay."

Jenny and Midnight trotted ahead of them back to the Hammer room. She opened the door and deactivated the security mechanism around the control core and Hammer trigger. "There you are."

Baird picked it up and examined it for a few minutes before carefully putting it back down on the table to dismantle it. He then checked out every piece of the weapon. "Hmm..." He glances back at the two of them as if to make sure it was _really_ okay, smiles a little, and then resumes work piecing it back together.

"Now… how old is he again?" Jenny asked, looking sidelong at Cole.

"Sixteen." Cole replied.

"I'm not going to say how old I was thinking. That would be best."

Baird whipped his head around, sensing he was being talked about. "Why...? How old did you think I was?"

"Fourteen, tops." She shrugged.

Baird let out a long, heavy sigh. "And why's that?"

"How small you are, and your voice, it is…" She put a finger on her lips. "Not very deep, and sort of… scratchy, yes."

"Oh, shut the fuck up." His lip curled as he pulled his goggles over his eyes.

"It's not my fault nature was unkind to you. It's a shame."

Cole squirmed to hold in a laugh. He was not gonna laugh… not gonna… more at the goggles than anything else. Baird did that when he was sulking.

"Ffff... Stupid bitch."

Jenny grinned. "Whaaaat, you can't take it, stupid boy?"

Baird put his hands on his waist. "Screw you."

Jenny smirked, catlike, eyes narrowed. "Only in your dreams, little one."

"Fff..." He smirked back. "I wouldn't touch you with a 33 foot pole, ugly whale."

"Yep, Baird. Women are just lining up to beg for you." Cole was suddenly dying laughing. He had remembered a conversation the two of them had a few weeks back on patrol, which had started with Cole and another Gear talking about their first time, and ended with the kid interrupting to talk about his sexual prowess, and how since he was a genius, women were just lining up to beg for him. _Right._

Jenny's brow furrowed for a second, but then she burst out laughing as well at what Cole said.

"Shut up!" Baird grit his teeth, kicking the chair over with a clatter, and stormed off toward the entrance. "I'll wait outside, assholes."


	2. Boob Stew

_**Author's Note:** Yay, chapter two! As long as I'm sick and have a lot of free time, I think I'll keep on trucking. Thanks so much to everyone who's reading, reviewing and subscribing!_

_An additional note for this chapter (the reference to "Aiden")-James Aiden is the former UIR Minister of Science, and a real bastard. I'm not going to say anything else for now. ;)_

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><p>The double-doors swung to a rest, and Jenny slowly looked over at the big ex-Thrashball star as they stood in the aftermath of Hurricane Baird. "Aww, give him a minute, he'll be fine." Cole waved a hand dismissively. "He don't know how to act around ladies."<p>

"No kidding." Jenny shook her head. "And here I thought I was socially awkward."

"Ain't nobody socially awkward compared to Baird. Always sayin' the opposite of what he means. Shit… I dunno what to do with that boy sometimes."

Jenny arched an eyebrow as they walked to the outside to catch up with the fuming Baird. He glanced at them, arms folded in front of him, frowned some more, and quickly looked away. "Are you going to sulk all day?" Jenny asked.

"Until I leave and won't see your ugly face." He muttered under his breath.

Jenny crouched down to his level. "What?"

Baird narrowed his eyes, looking up her, and smirked. "You shouldn't have gotten angry when I called you an ugly whale... now I know what your trigger is."

"Is that what you think?" Her face was very close to his now as she crouched, smirking herself.

"Yeah."

"You could call me names until you're blue in the face, but I'm not going to react. You, however… you're so touchy."

Baird stared at her, his smirk slowly forming into a frown. "Am not."

"Are too."

"Nope."

She poked him in the cheek. "Yep."

"Nope." He stepped back.

"Where are you going, then?" She grinned a little and poked him a few more times.

"Quit poking me." He pouted. "It's frigging annoying."

"Is it? Is it?" She said, continuing to do so and pursing her lips. "Aww, and now you're pouting..."

"Stop..." He kept stepping back until he was pressed up against the wall.

Jenny put her hands on her hips and quirked her eyebrow up. "But you're terribly fun to annoy."

Baird sighed.

She smiled a little. "Now, come on, you've traveled a long way. Dinner?"

Baird looked at her like she had gone insane. "The hell?"

"You need good food to grow big and strong, and your friend, he needs it to stay that way, yes?" She blinked, perplexed, as if him coming to dinner when they'd just met was the most natural thing in the world.

"_Fff._"

"Come, come." She motioned at a nearby cottage. "You too, Private Cole." She and her dog once again lead the way.

Baird glanced at Cole, then heaved a frustrated shrug and decided he might as well follow her. "Fine." His eyes wandered around the small cottage, taking in the details as he made his way to the kitchen and sat down. The furniture was cherrywood and sturdily built; clean and polished, if old. Each couch and chair in the living room was a different pattern, indicating that Jenny had been donated them or thrifted them from scientists established before she came to the island, or they had perhaps been left by previous occupants of the cottage. There were a few woven throw rugs scattered around, and drapes over the windows for modesty, but other than that, there didn't seem to be many personal touches. Then again, she didn't seem to be one for knick-knacks.

Jenny set up in a clean, airy kitchen and got to work making a hearty stew and some bread to go along with it. "You're an engineer, yes?" She said to Baird, trying to make small talk as she kneaded the bread dough.

"Yeah, I am."

Jenny put the loaf in the oven and let the stew sit, pulling up a chair and undoing the top few buttons of her shirt. It felt stifling when they were clasped tight all the way to her neck, like she was wearing a collar. "Any specialties?"

In lieu of responding, Baird stared as she unbuttoned her shirt.

"Anything he can get his hands on, ma'am." Cole replied.

"Uh... yeah, yeah. Anything mechanical. Yeah," Baird added belatedly, after hearing his friend speak.

Cole felt like burying his face in his hands. Smooth, man. Smooth. "The more complex the better. Knows a few things about Locusts, too."

Jenny's eyes brightened at that, oblivious to Baird looking at her. "One time I replaced a Ticker's explosive ordnance with a harmless facsimile and kept it as a pet… though, it didn't last too long. I think it was sad without the other Tickers, but I don't know how their little brains work."

"Huh. Cool." He glanced at Cole, who smirked a little, but didn't say a thing, and then back at her. "Uhhh... so, what did you make?"

"Beef stew. It's a good, hearty winter food… and something that Abel can perhaps choke down if he's feeling better."

"Nice. Haven't had boob..." Baird caught his mistake a millisecond too late, and stuttered a correction. "I mean, beef... beef stew..." Cole snickered and tried not to laugh outright, in case she somehow hadn't caught that.

Jenny slowly turned around, eyes half-lidded. "Really?" Oh, she had heard.

Baird cringed, beginning to shake. "Can... I... Where's your bathroom...?"

Jenny pointed past herself to the back of the house. "Right before the bedrooms. Only one in the house, it's hard to miss."

Baird quickly got up, almost running into Cole's chair, and headed straight to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Hearing the door's lock click, Jenny peered around the corner. "Is something the matter?"

Cole sighed. "He usually slings a few insults, and people get out the way. He ain't used to people fighting back, or being nice to him. Still freaks him out when I complement him."

"No offense, but… why are you telling me this?"

"It ain't easy to see given his personality, but he's sweet on you, Miss Jenny. That's why he even cares that he's said somethin' stupid. Usually he just follows it with something worse."

"O-Oh." Her eyes widened, and she could feel her cheeks warming. She didn't quite know what to think of that…

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><p>Baird finished puking in the toilet, and stared at the water after he flushed it for a good minute before moving over to the sink to wash up. He stared at himself in the mirror with a blank look for a while before leaning down to stare at the sink as it filled up with water. Once it was filled, he took a deep breath, dunked his face into the water, and screamed until he needed to come up for air. He stood up, released the stop to drain the water, and then washed his hands for a moment He patted his face and hands dry with a towel before returning to the table.<p>

Jenny was still blushing a little when he walked back in the room. "Are you all right?" She said in a quiet voice.

"Oh, you know." He paused. "I'm... great."

"You don't look so great." Her eyebrows knit together in thought.

"I'm fine..." Baird muttered.

"I-If you say so." She bit her lip, blue-gray eyes wide, and got back to stirring the stew. That was something she knew how to deal with.

Cole motioned his head towards the outside. 'We need to talk,' he mouthed.

Baird looked at him and frowned, mouthing back, 'Now?'

'Hell yeah, now.'

Baird frowned more, shaking his head and raising his hands in the air. "Fine." He got up and headed toward the outside.

Cole followed his friend out and lead him a ways away, making sure the door was shut first. They stood under an apple tree, sun just beginning to set in the distance. "You don't plan to do anything about the fact that you like her, do you." He groaned, wiping a hand down his face.

Baird scoffed. "What the hell are you talking about, Cole? I _don't _like her. I really don't. At all."

"Well then you're an _idiot_, man. She's smart, pretty, and probably likes you too, so I don't know why the hell you're trippin' yourself."

"Fff... I got better things to do than going after some girl." He frowned.

"Like what, growing a pair?" Cole chuckled. "In that case, I do believe I'll put on the ole Cole Train charm and see what happens…" He whistled happily as he went back in the house, walking with a cocky sway.

"Whatever." Baird leaned against the tree and slid down to the ground, bringing up his legs and wrapping his arms around his knees. He stayed there for a while... suddenly not feeling hungry. He pushed his goggles down over his eyes and frowned. "Ah, dammit."

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><p>The sun was nearly set when Jenny walked outside with a bowl of soup and a bun, looking for Baird. She stood a little ways away so as not to startle him. "Baird…?"<p>

"What?"

"It's getting dark outside, you should come in before the Kryll get you." Her brow was working its way to a furrow again. "That, and you have not eaten yet."

"I can see that, and I know." He lightly hit the back of his head against the tree, muttering something, and then slowly stood up, pulling his goggles back over his forehead, gazing back at her. His eyes were sad and ringed with dark circles; the telltale signs of stress and lack of sleep. Jenny found herself studying them, wondering why they looked that way at just sixteen. Not that she didn't still have a tinge of those marks around her own eyes for her own reasons.

"I was able to rescue this before your friend ate it all. He is a very nice man, but so loud my ears are ringing." She smiled softly and held the bowl, piece of bread and spoon out for him.

Baird looked down at the food for a few moments, before reluctantly taking everything from her. "Thanks." They slowly walked back, so he could eat inside at the table.

"God damn, I just about destroyed that stew," Cole exclaimed with a burp, his way of welcoming them back. "It was delicious, miss Jenny."

Jenny winced at how loud he was. "Thanks, heh."

"Glad you joined us, baby." He said to Baird with a bit of a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Indoor voice, Cole. Damn." Baird rubbed at his ear and winced after placing his bowl of soup and roll on the table.

At the end of the table sat a gaunt man in his mid-twenties, grey pallor to his skin. "Ohhh…" He stared at the clean bucket between his knees longingly, wishing he could puke to get the pain over with. "Baird… it's been years… wish I was in better health."

Baird looked over at Abel, and stared at him for a long moment. "Huh?"

"Engineering conference about 6 years ago… you came up and corrected me about some of my math after my presentation." He shot Baird a big grin, though he was coughing in the back of his throat. "It's weird seeing you as a young adult and not a kid…"

"I'm surprised he forgot you, given that horrid orange coat you always wear." Jenny chuckled.

"It's not horrid." He pouted, looking down at his medium-orange overcoat. He took it off and hung it over his chair. "That better, Jenny?"

"You'll just put it on again when I take my guard down." She shook her head and rolled up her sleeves, starting the dishes.

"Will not."

"Will too, and you know it, mister."

"Ohhh!" Baird grinned after a time, happy and smug. "I remember now... yeah." He sat down and started eating. "Mmm... this is good." He glanced at Jenny, who grinned bashfully at the complement to her cooking, and then back at Abel. "I don't remember that ugly-ass coat because you weren't wearing it. Said something along the lines of not wanting to burn anyone's retinas because you wanted them to learn something. Heh."

"Thank God you made that decision, or otherwise they would have been mesmerized the whole time… looking at that thing is like looking at the sun… or a train wreck." She giggled.

Abel sighed and chuckled. "You'll hurt its feelings, you two…" He looked at Jenny for a long moment, then Baird. "But yeah, that's pretty true. So what've you been up to, kiddo? Invent anything cool?"

Baird sighed, frowning a little as he silently ate his soup.

"He, uh… had to join the army." Cole replied for his friend, which was true, but not the whole story. Best to just leave it at that.

Abel sighed himself, looking down. "Shame… you coulda been the next Aiden, minus the evil."

"He's that smart?" Jenny blinked. "No offense, Baird."

"Yes." Abel enthused.

Cole smirked. "Hell yeah."

Jenny couldn't really come up with a response to that. She looked stunned… and impressed.

"Sure." Baird added quietly.

Jenny blushed a little, eyes darting to Baird, and then away. "Oh."

"Ohhh, good lord." Abel suddenly groaned. "Yeah… I'll be in the back bedroom. If I don't see you later tonight, then tomorrow before you leave. The pain…" He walks away to the guest bedroom, closing the door and vomiting in his bucket. Loudly.

Jenny ran back with some water for him, and to make sure he had everything he needed to rest... which left Cole and Baird alone at the kitchen table, a rare uncomfortable silence settling between them.


	3. Something Fishy

_**Author's Note:** Truckin' along on the edits! Which... actually may not be a good thing, because the bridging chapter(s) to the end of this story (chapters 6-7 of a 12-chapter fic, approximately) still need to be finished by xSCx GHOST and myself, haha. Though, I'd rather take a bit more time, and get inspiration for something awesome than just push something out to get it done quickly, so we'll see how that goes._

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><p>Baird slowly ate his soup for a minute, and then looked over at Cole. Cole looked back. "Yeah?"<p>

"Was... was she blushing because of me?"

Cole cracked a smile. "She most certainly was."

"Oh." Baird looked down at the nearly empty bowl of soup, trailing his spoon in a figure-eight in the liquid that remained.

Cole jostled his friend gently with his elbow. "So c'mon, what're you waiting for."

"I... I don't know." He tensed up as he finished his soup.

"Don't get yourself all worked up... that's how you wear yourself out half the time." Cole rubbed his friend's back. "Calm down, man. Just cause it's new don't mean it has to be scary."

Baird groaned, laying his head down on the table. "What happens if I say something stupid... again?"

"Well, you'll cross that bridge when you get to it, won't you." Cole smiled. "Though, she thought it was cute when you slipped up."

Still keeping his head down, Baird mumbled, "When?"

"We had a nice, long talk while you were outside having a sulk." He chuckled. "She got all shy when we started talking about you, and said she thought it was actually pretty funny and cute when you slipped up. Didn't know she was having that effect on you, heh."

Baird turned his head, gazing up at Cole. "She did?" There was a tinge of red starting at his cheeks.

"That's right." The little guy was probably pretty overwhelmed at the moment, poor thing. At least it was in a good way. She, too, was overwhelmed. Couldn't be too used to this type of thing either, by her reaction. Cole wondered how coherent she'd even be if it came down to some kind of confession. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but you're probably gonna have to make the first move, buddy. She got _real _shy."

Baird squirmed in his seat, hiding his face in his hands.

"You can do it." He patted his friend on the back one more time, to try to give him strength. "Hell, it don't get easier the more you do it. You just gotta man up and put yourself out there, and hope she responds well to that."

"I think my stomach tied itself in a knot..."

Cole gave him a sympathetic look. "Means you're worried how it's gonna turn out. However it does go, that knot will go away once you tell her."

Baird sat back in his chair, holding his stomach and staring at the edge of the table as if it could somehow help him through this situation.

Jenny came back out to the kitchen a few minutes later, looking tired. "It's probably the flu, we shouldn't visit with him any longer unless we want to catch it." She let out a long sigh. "Or be covered in vomit." She got back to doing the dishes, starting on the huge pile in the sink.

_Why don't you help her? _Cole jerked his head in her direction. "Well if it's safe, then, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." He scooted his chair out and left, Baird frowning as he watched his friend leave. Which left him alone in the kitchen with Jenny.

Baird sighed quietly, looking down at the now-empty bowl and the spoon he had left inside, before slowly getting up to take them over. Jenny gave him a smile, not making a sound but making room enough for him to fit beside her in front of the sink.

Baird smiled back, standing beside her as he turned on the hot and cold water spigot. "Heh. Can't wash dishes without turning these on... If only... well... if only there was a dishwasher to do it - or a maid. Heh..."

"R-Right. Thanks." Jenny was incredibly embarrassed she didn't remember to _turn the water on._ She chewed the side of her cheek and set to washing a cup. "If only." When it was done, she held it out, water running from the cup, to her hand, to fall in droplets back into the sink. "Can you, um… dry them?"

Baird looked around. "Uh..." He finally found a towel and took the cup from her to dry it.

"Thanks. Oh, I already said that. Thanks again." She said, wincing with the realization she was fumbling her words. She got out a rack from under the sink to put the dishes in to dry, and set it on the counter. "I am, well… I just turned eighteen last month, so I'm not that much older than you, despite appearances." She rolled her shoulders in a lazy shrug as she washed a dish. "In school, they always used to pick on me for looking older than I was."

"They used to pick on me because I was younger than them. I was in college classes when I was ten. Even then, I aced every exam and had to wait for all of them to catch up to me."

"I'm smart, but I think you're on a whole different_ level_ of smart to have done that." She handed him the dish. "It must have been quite lonely."

Baird took the dish, carefully dried it and set it down. "Yeah, it was. I only had my gadgets and machines and books." He shook his head.

"Those things are nice, but it's not the same as having someone to talk to, even if it is just every once in a while." She scrubbed another plate clean, and then handed it off to him.

"It's not like I could go up to someone and talk to them. I tried, but..." He bit his lower lip as he took the plate to dry it.

Jenny cleaned more cups, plates and utensils and handed them off in sequence. "You get nervous and say something you did not intend to? Or they brush you off before you even get to say anything?"

"Both."

She gazed at him. "I could see how your mouth would get you in trouble."

Baird dried the dishes and set them in the slots of the drying rack. "It's..." He sighed. "I don't mean anything by what I say... I _don't_ mean to bully anyone when I throw insults. It's just a defense mechanism."

"Your friend said as much, but it's good to hear it from you." She chuckled. "Though I still wonder why you chose a whale of all animals to call me." It had given her some interesting mental images.

"Hell, I don't know. It's whatever comes out of my mouth first... I don't think about what I say." He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Cole's my first and only friend, even though I'm sometimes mean to him. He's there for me..." He trailed off, feeling a lump form in his throat, and looked away from her for a few moments.

"He's a very good friend to you… and gives as well as he takes. He had you going there for a while, back at the facility."

Baird chuckled, grinning as he turned red. "Yeah, he did."

Jenny giggled at how flushed his cheeks were, looking sidelong at him. "Can't blame him, you really are fun to mess with."

He pressed his hands against his cheeks, and pouted at her, making that little frustrated _Fff_ noise. "You look like a fish," She chuckled, mimicking his expression and then poking her lips out more, hands on the side of her face moving like gills.

Baird laughed. "I knew something was fishy about you." She did it for a little longer, then had to stop because she was giggling too hard, and covered her mouth. He grinned. "Ha. I knew it."

Her steel-blue eyes widen a bit with curiosity, chuckling slowly stopping. "Knew what?"

"That... I could talk to someone... like you..."

She tilted her head to the side at that. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah."

"I… admit that I myself am not used to talking to someone my own age." She chuckled nervously, shifting her weight and looking at him now and again, but having trouble meeting his eyes.

"I'm not used to talking to anyone other than Cole, without them getting mad because of what I blurted out to them, even if they are near my age."

"You get nervous and you say stupid things. Yeah, it's annoying sometimes, but I think I can handle it."

Baird sighed, shrugging. "I can't help it."

"I figured as much... 'Boob stew.'" She blushed heavily and covered her mouth again, struck with a fit of giggles.

He looked away, rolling his eyes, and then facepalmed. "That..." He sighed. "I was... I don't even know."

"You were staring at my blouse and said the first thing that came to mind." She chuckled. "That's what your friend said, anyway."

He flushed from the neck up like a neon street sign as he looked away. "I... wasn't staring there..." He chuckled nervously.

"Then why did you turn around?" She finished the dishes and flicked some of the water from her fingers at the back of his neck.

Baird flinched. "Ah!" He wiped his hand over the back of his neck, looking back at her. "I, uh, I had something in my nose."

Jenny gave him something between a frown and a pout. "Gross."

"Yup. Hence why I looked away, because that would've been rude and stuff."

"I still didn't want to know that you pick your nose."

"I don't." He frowned, mentally kicking himself for being unable to come up with a better excuse. Especially one that didn't make her think him disgusting.

"Then you lied?" A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Baird shifted in his stance, looking down and scuffing his shoe on the floor. "Yeah..."

"Pfft, it's okay. At least you don't pick your nose. That's the most disgusting habit."

"It is... especially when people act like assholes and flick their boogers."

She shook her head, wanting to change the subject for so many reasons. "I… um. I wish you didn't have to leave so soon."

"Oh, uh. Maybe I'll see you again."

Jenny's eyes lit up as she looks at him. "You might?"

"Yeah, me and Cole were ordered to tour the place, because we'll be guarding your building just in case any Locusts end up here."

"That makes sense, we are a very valuable facility, after all." She tilted her head again. "Wait… will you two be doing this personally?"

Baird nodded. "At least until we're ordered to go somewhere else, and then another squad will take over."

Jenny grinned happily. "That's great! Not the leaving part, but that you have longer than a day here. Maybe I'll be nice the next time we're in the facility, and not breathe down your neck so you can get some work done."

He smiled a little at that. "Maybe I won't act like a complete asshole around you."

"I would like that." She stuck out her tongue at the boy. Baird smirked, and was going to say something, but closed his mouth without replying when Cole re-entered the kitchen. Jenny jumped a little and promptly pulled her tongue back in.

"Man, Abel's in a bad way," Cole said, running a hand over his head. "I think he started crying..."

"He does that." She let out a long, tortured sigh. "I have some sheets and blankets on the couches you two can use. Sorry I don't have better arrangements for today, at least."

Baird looked to Cole for a moment as if for confirmation, and then back at Jenny. "It's fine."

"I will see you in the morning then, boys. Good night." Jenny gave Baird a little wave, then took her leave to walk back to her bedroom.

Cole waited a moment until he was sure Jenny was gone, before heading over to the big red couch and laying the sheets out. It was summer, so there wasn't need for much bed dressing, beyond a sheet over the couch, and another to cover himself. "So…" He smiled. "How'd it go?"

Baird headed over to the thinner, longer green couch and laid down, putting his hands behind his head and gazing at the ceiling. "It went okay." He grinned a little.

"It's a start." Cole nestled down with a yawn. "I'm proud of you, Damon."

"Thanks." Baird rolled over onto his side, and closed his eyes.


	4. Bacon

_**Author's Note: **I want bacon._

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed… it hadn't seemed like it, the days had just flown by. Cole and Baird had been guarding the property and making improvements to the security, Baird messing with the systems in addition to picking apart anything he could get his hands on in the facility. It was interesting to watch him go, like a dog chasing a squirrel. Jenny continued her own research, but always took breaks to talk to Baird, or just check to see what he was doing. Abel got better and went back to his own house, so the guest room he had been sleeping in was freed up, and that was where Cole and Baird were now. "Time to wake up," She said, creaking open the door and walking in, still in her pajamas—a tanktop and cotton shorts printed with a plankton pattern. "I made breakfast."<p>

"Oh, sweet!" It was weird seeing her this early in the morning, usually she was gone before they left, though occasionally it was the opposite. Cole yawned and stretched. "I'm awake… good luck with Damon, though." Baird was sleeping soundly, wrapped around in the sheet with his legs sticking out as he slept on his side.

Jenny got a mischievous look and leaned over real close to him, whispering, "Wake uuuup." In his ear.

Baird groaned, turning over onto his other side. "Just... just a few more minutes."

"No more minutes." She chuckled, taking his sheet away.

"Uhhhh... Come on, Cole. I said just a few more minutes..." He opened his eyes and realized it wasn't Cole, but her. His eyes widened, and he looked as if he crapped himself. "Ahhhhhh!" He crawled across the bed, freaking out, and fell back onto the floor with a thud.

Jenny walked around the bed, looking at his face through his legs. He had landed on his shoulders, as if he had gotten stuck halfway through a backwards somersault with his legs over his head. "Are you okay? She bit back a snicker.

Baird groaned, looking up at her, and turning bright red in the face. "God dammit." He moved around, and slowly got himself situated and stood up, covering his hands over his crotch even though he was in his boxers.

Jenny threw her hands up in the air, looking innocent… but her eyes darted up and down his body. "I made breakfast." She said, feeling her cheeks grow warm.

"Oh. Uh, okay." He watched her and noticed she was looking at him, but doesn't say anything.

"Nice abs, I mean, I uh. Made practically a whole slab of bacon. Yes. I'll get back to that." She coughed a little and darted out of the room.

"Oooh, bacon." He got dressed after she left, and walked into the kitchen. "Better not have eaten everything again, man." He thumped Cole on the back as he made his way to his chair and sat down.

"I only had about a two minute head start," Cole laughed. "But yeah, I saved some for you." He passed the plate of bacon. There were also some eggs and toast on the table, as well as coffee and water and juice, and some berries. "Thanks, miss Jenny!"

"You're welcome." She sat down and serves herself, taking a lot of berries. "They're really ripe and good," she chuckled, a bit of juice dripping down her chin.

Baird slid a bunch of bacon onto his plate, and took eggs and toast until there wasn't much left. He grabbed some of the berries before pouring juice into his glass. "Mmm." He started chowing down like a starved shark.

Jenny giggled, watching the two of them go. With the way Baird was eating, and growing—an inch since he'd been there—she guessed he would be a big man in a few years. Or perhaps just a tall one. "I'm glad you both like my cooking." She wiped her chin, then proceeded to eat her scrambled eggs by putting them on top of her toast.

"Oh, you know... real food will always be better than ration bars... how things are going now... food like this is a luxury." Of course, he said this with his mouth full of food, interrupting himself to chew.

"I can see your food when you talk," Jenny said, waving her toast at the boy.

"You're eatin' with a lady. Where're your manners at." Cole jostled Baird with an elbow.

He shrugged, mouth still loaded with food. "I left them back home."

"Well, in that case." She imitated him, eating loudly and with her mouth open, arms everywhere.

"What am I gonna do with you two," Cole chuckled to himself, stabbing and eating some more bacon.

"Hey." He sat back, chewing his food. "I don't look like that... arms everywhere. Fffff." He grabbed a few more strips of bacon and ate them, too.

Jenny kicked him a little under the table. "Do too. Look at your elbows." She grinned and chewed a piece of bacon, eggs and toast in her mouth showing.

Baird frowned when she kicked him. "What about my elbows?"

She jostled his foot with hers. "They stick out. They're so pointy it's dangerous."

He kicked at her feet lightly. "Do not."

She swallowed and flashed him a grin. "Do too." Her toes touched his for a second, and she giggled.

He quickly moved his legs away from her, making a face. "Look at Cole's..."

"He can't help it, he's a big guy." She nodded.

"Fff."

Jenny smiled sweetly at him, not saying another peep.

Cole finished by producing a low burp as he cleaned up his plate. "Gotta lot of ground to cover, we should probably get going."

"Hey, Cole. There's a lady here, remember? You shouldn't burp like that." He smirked, finishing up his plate and then taking the last bacon and eating it.

Jenny let out a long, loud belch that echoed around the kitchen. She grinned. "Excuse me."

Cole looked stunned for a second, then chuckled. "Good one."

Baird stared at her, surprised. "Never mind." He let out a really loud one, smirked and got up. "Ahh." He patted his stomach. "So good. Thanks, Jenny."

"You're welcome, Damon," She said with a smile and a bow, cleaning the dishes and boxing up what little leftovers there were.

Baird returned the smile and went back to the guest room to get suited up, checking his weapons to make sure they were in good condition before they went out for the day.

Cole strapped on his armor and checked his weapons as well, and looked his friend in the eyes. "You better man up one of these days, or I'm gonna slap some sense into you."

"What?"

Cole ran a hand down his face. It was painful for him to watch how awkward his friend was with the female scientist. "You even on the same page? Still haven't told her how you feel, have you."

"Maybe." Baird kept his eyes on his Retro Lancer as he put it back together.

"Nah, man. You can't just act a little different, you have to _tell_ her."

"It might be easy for you to go up to some girl and say what you think of them, but it isn't for me. I'm not like you."

"Aw, it ain't easy for me either. Every time I do it, I feel like my heart's gonna leap out my chest. That's what I've been sayin' all along… you're braver than me, man." Cole clapped his friend on the back. "If I was trying to ask Jenny out, I'd be shittin' myself. She is fine as hell."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Baird frowned.

"I am. Don't make it any less true."

"Just let it go," Baird huffed. "You and I both know we won't be here forever. So, what's the frigging point in telling her, when we both damn well know we won't see each other after this?"

"How you so sure about that?" He raised an eyebrow. "Plenty of Gears got wives and girlfriends they don't get to see that often… don't mean they don't stay together."

"Because I'm sure, okay? Come on, man. Let's get going." Baird headed out through the back door, starting down a path through the forest leading to the facility.

"Suit yourself. She's gonna be sad." Cole trotted at a pace after his friend.

"She'll get over it."

"Damon Baird, teenage heartbreaker." He chuckled and shook his head. "Man, I can't believe you sometimes." Baird smirked at his friend at the comment as they kept jogging at a light pace. Cole slowly smirked back, knowing just which button to press. "Don't worry, I'll tell her you're too much of a pussy to ask her out."

Baird didn't go for the bait, but he frowned deeply and clenched his hands as they crested the last hill between them and the building.

Cole kept smirking, noting the effect that had. Kid had an ego on him, not that he'd admit it. "Let's make our rounds." He nodded to himself and began to circle the building.

Baird shrugged, looking around carefully as they made their way around the building.

They go about halfway around the first side, when Cole suddenly groaned, clutching his side. "Don't think I'm used to coffee." He interrupted himself with a low, incoherent, gurgling moan of pain. "Be back in a bit." And he ran off into the building, leaving Baird behind.

"Fine. Leave me here... all by myself..." Baird grumbled, shaking his head. "Idiot."

Twenty minutes or so pass, and Jenny caught up to him, alone. "Cole isn't feeling too great," she said, looking at the pistol in her hand. "Though I don't know why he gave me this, I've never shot a gun in my life." She examined it oddly, turning it over in her hands.

"Great." He frowned, shaking his head, and muttered, "Thanks, Cole..."

"He must have a weak stomach."

"Yeah, he does. That's why I cringe whenever we ride on a King raven..." He chuckled.

"What do you look for, anyway? Emergence holes?"

"Yeah, that and other shit."

"And other… shit?" She moved her mouth strangely, like she wasn't used to such potty language crossing her lips. "I guess maybe the occasional Locust, but we have more of a rat problem than a Locust problem."

"Rat problem? Just get a bunch of old radios and change their frequencies and put them where the rats come up at. It'll stop them." He shrugged. "Wish it would work with Grubs though."

"Haven't thought of that before, but yes, just like the inaudible dog whistles you can buy." She nodded. "I wonder if you could make one for Grubs. Certainly they have _some_ type of hearing capable of being damaged. I would like to study one up close sometime."

"I'm not sure yet... I'm still working that part out with them." Baird slowed down to a stop and peered out into the area away from the building for a few minutes.

"They're different, but not different from us. It's strange." She leaned on the stone railing when he looked out, looking down into the garden, and the hedge maze beyond. A lot of different fruits and vegetables and herbs were growing, as well as many more temperamental things in large greenhouses to either side.

"Yeah."

A bird some distance away chirped, and her white dress ruffled in the wind. She looked odd with that gun in her hand, and without her glasses or labcoat on. She stood there thinking, and took a deep breath of the fresh air.

Baird sighed, and after another minute passed, looked at her. "Cole's not sick. I don't remember him getting sick any other time he drank coffee."

She smiled a little. "He never even drank coffee in the first place."

"I didn't notice."

"I see." She brushed her white-blonde bangs behind her ear, licking her lips in nervousness.

Baird gazed back at her quietly, and then looked away for a few seconds as he shouldered his Retro Lancer, swallowing nervously. He breathed in deeply, and slowly exhaled. He stepped closer to her as he rested his hands on her shoulders. "I, uh..." He bit his lower lip. _Fuck it..._ he thought, pressing his lips against hers.

Her eyes went wide for a second. She laid the pistol on the balustrade, eyes fluttering closed as she gave a small noise of contentment, kissing him back as she turned around and stood up to face him properly.

He opened his eyes and blinked as he pulled back from the kiss, but still held her by the shoulders. "Uhhhh..."

She looked dazed herself as she looked back at him, smiling and winding her arms around his waist. "You taste like bacon," she murmured with a chuckle.

"Heh." He grinned slyly. "I did eat a lot."

"You did." She smiled, continuing to gaze at his face. "Did… did that just happen?"

"I think so..."

"Let me make sure." She pressed a slightly more passionate kiss to his lips, massaging them with hers. "Yes, it did happen." It felt like her heart was going to jackhammer its way out of her, she was so nervous and excited.

"Mmm." He replied to that kiss, more confident than the first time. His hands slid down to her forearms and lightly gripped them, and he stepped a little closer to her. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and feel it in his chest as they continued to kiss.

She gripped his lean, muscled forearms back, breaking away from his lips to kiss him on the cheek with a little sigh of breath. "I like you, Damon… a… a lot."

"I like you, too, Jenny..." He breathed. "A lot."

"You look very good in your armor." She snuck a peck on his lips with a giggle.

"I do?" He hated his damn armor and all that it stood for, but the fact that _she_ thought he looked good in it made him smile a little. "Maybe I'll grow into it one of these days."

"I think you will." She smiled at him, caressing his arms. "I think you've grown at least an inch while you've been here. You used to be so much shorter than me, and now you're almost my height." She chuckled. "It must be my cooking."

"Must be." He smiled, slowly moving his hands down to her hips as he gazed at her. "I feel a lot better now."

"I do too." Jenny sighed happily, moving her hands to his back and hugging him close.

Baird hugged her back, genuinely smiling and feeling happy for once in his life.


End file.
